Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What the hell?

It's bad enough that Kanye West is a brilliant, but ego-centric jackass, now he's selling out to collaborate with Justin Bieber!?

Justin Bieber has reached a new milestone. The 16-year-old singer from Canada has been mobbed by fans at malls, achieved the most YouTube video streams, and scored No. 1 on the charts. But now, he has officially hit a hip hop plateau, recording with the legendary Wu Tang Clan rapper Raekwon and Kanye West.

The Kanye-produced remix of Bieber's "Runaway Love," featuring rap verses from Raekwon and Kanye, was released Monday, and includes a surprise.

The revamped track incorporates a sample of the classic 1993 Wu-Tang Clan song "Wu Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F*** Wit."

What the hell happened to the music industry?? We had talents like Dylan, the Beatles, Public Enemy, Ray Charles, etc. How did they get to catering to the lowerst common denominator?

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Becktards Not Taking Failure Quietly

As you have probably already heard Glenn Beck's little Teabagger march was an epic failure drawing about 85,000 people. Of course whenever one of their heroes suffers an embarrassment the Fox Army mobilizes quickly to stick up for their fallen soldiers.

Tawny Jones
Gorgeous Gov. Sarah Palin was brilliant and beautiful as she delivered a thrilling tribute to our military heroes at the Restore America rally.


I find it incredible that you all can sit here and bad mouth an event that had nothing to do with politics, Obama, democrats, etc. I guess it makes sense though because you all were probably hoping for a republican political rally and didn't get it. This was truly a site to see and when Nov. 2nd comes those in washington, may be able to ignore today's rally, but will not be able to ignore the votes on the 2nd.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Just Like Bob "Suppots " Pedophiles

Interesting? The NewsHounds criticize Fox Nation when posters over their make threats of violence (and they should criticize such vile actions), and yet they appear to SUPPOT threats of violence on their own pages - as long as it is geared towards non-hounds. That says it all.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Uh...


Perfume that makes you smell like Marvelous Marvin Hagler,



I guess it could be worse, There could be a perfume that makes you smell like Roberto Duran.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Al Franken's Condo Shot At

Do they know any other way?

Minneapolis and Capitol Hill police are investigating a shot that was fired at the condo of Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.).

Nobody was home at the time of the incident, which was not reported until after the senator and his wife returned home to Minneapolis after a two-day trip out of town on Tuesday and discovered the damage to their window facing the street.

Franken’s wife reported the incident to police.

[...]

Minneapolis police have not said whether they have a suspect or if they believe Sen. Franken was specifically being targeted.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Fundie, Apparently Paralyzed

Again, our Jeremiah's silence compels me to dip into Fundies Say the Darndest Things for our latest dose of Fundamentalist Fury. Today's appears to hail from Australia but it is no less paranoid and self-loathing for that. Follow along with me, gentle reader, as we document the idiocies:
I hate pornography because it has taken away my freedom.
I see. The existence of porn, in any form, anywhere, prevents you from arising in the morning and going about your business? You might as well be incarcerated, you say? Curious. Say on!
It serves to remind me that western culture is no longer my home because I no longer move freely in it.
So you are prevented from going about your business. I'm still intrigued. Does a prostitute station herself outside your apartment door, barricading the way?
Last century, as I tried to live a life worthy of the Lord, a lot of things were going my way (at least, I understand they were; I wasn't there to enjoy it, but someone like me was).
*ahem* Before I even comment on referring to your life in a prior century during years you then claim you were not alive - which is nonsense galore, so I don't think I'll mention it after all - if you weren't there, as you say, then that makes you....like, ten. Or nine going on ten. Apparently porn is also interfering with your mathematical calculations.
I could walk into a newsagency, buy the paper, and walk out again without my ungodly thoughts being fuelled. Someone—the government!—was helping me, by not allowing material I didn't want to see to be displayed.
So suggestible, good sir? That the mere presence of porn pokes a sharp stick at your ungodly thoughts? I suppose I should rejoice that an Archie comic in the checkout aisle doesn't impel me to want to buy a denim-covered binder to doodle all over as I am irresistibly compelled to go back to algebra class...

And, yes, that government censorship that you weren't there to enjoy? All intended for and built around you and your wants/needs. Idiot.
But today, the relaxation of the censorship laws has meant steady erosion of my freedoms. I love film, but the proliferation of pornography has meant that I need to check every film I see carefully.
I believe it's called the ratings system. Also, film reviews. And you may have encountered something known as the Internet. I am told you can find plenty of film information there. What did you do before, in this increasingly mythical existence of yours? Just go to every film that appeared, without any knowledge as to what the plot involved? I'd give you a list of keywords you may want to avoid, but I don't think the Count wants that kind of Google search to pick up this blog...
I love the inner city, but the proliferation of sex shops have meant that I now have to keep accountable to friends at home about where I have spent my time.
Checking in with Mommy? Nanny? The nurse practitioners at your care facility? Because I'm pretty sure that pornography or the existence of establishments that provide it doesn't force you to phone home every five minutes or recite your itinerary to anybody.
I love literature, but pornography has limited my freedom to avoid reading what I don't want to read.
OK, now this is just getting stupid. I'll go slow so this dolt can follow. In these places called libraries, there's this thing called either the Library of Congress or the Dewey Decimal Classification system. You can go right to what you want to read about - I'm guessing you'll hang in the 200s on the DDC - and don't have to look at another thing. Not even those bright, colorful, pro-reading displays that those nasty egalitarian librarian types insist on putting up.

Are you in a bookstore? They tend to categorize, too. Just follow the signs. And here's a clever and handy tip. You're passing by something you don't want to read? DON'T READ IT! Point your eyes elsewhere. You're in charge of what they do and don't look at, not Houghton-Mifflin. I mean, come ON.
And newsagencies. Newsagencies! Those most normal of places—the place we go to buy our paper, our cool drinks and our bus tickets—have become places that cause me to pray before I enter.
Dear Lord, give me the strength not to buy the Super Big Gulp this time but to settle for a small regular coffee and perhaps a Danish... and please, Lord, let those people staring at me understand that I am actually praying and not preparing to urinate on the sidewalk...
And, once I have prayed and rallied my heart to heaven,
Getting ridiculous here again. You have to "rally your heart to heaven" to go in the equivalent of a convenience store for a newspaper? You've got more problems than just porn, buddy.
I must buy my paper in the manner of an Israeli Commando Mission—get in and get out as quickly as possible.
Do you wear cammo? I would pay money to see that. People might mistake it as an Improv Everywhere mission, though.
Perhaps one day, I shall have to forgo my beloved copy of the Weekend Australian altogether.
Again, let me direct you to the miracle that is this Series of Tubes...on which you're posting this drivel right now!!
The relaxation of censorship has not meant freedom for me, and a furthering of my rights; it has meant my freedom has been exchanged for another's. Those of us who wish to avoid pornography (not only Christians, but also Muslims, some feminists, and a host of other groups one would think a pluralistic society would be quick to listen to) have had our freedom exchanged for the freedom of the pornographer and his/her clients. Our freedom to walk the streets without being confronted by offensive material has been lost to the freedom of the pornographer to publish. So much for the notion that society has brought freedom for all! In this game, some people have won; others have lost.
"Some" feminists? No, I'm too worn out. I won't touch that after all.

Well, I feel very sorry for you, my confused Aussie poster, that you believe that your right not to be offended in your very narrow views of the world is more important than the right to self expression for all. But allow me to also observe something. Your whole post is predicated on the assumption that the mere existence of something tangibly interferes with your ability to distance yourself from it. As I've said elsewhere, this is kind of like saying that if someone hosts a BBQ and a vegetarian lives on the same block, that vegetarian's ability to make his or her own choice not to eat meat is somehow curtailed. (I'd extend that to the absurd notion that what a same-sex couple does in the privacy of their own home somehow damages the traditional marriage of a couple down the road, but I think I have a clue where that might go with this guy, too.)

This dude's faith is pretty poor, IMO, if all it takes is the existence of pornography, anywhere that he might possibly unexpectedly encounter it, to make him pitch this kind of fit. But his tirade also exposes the essential hypocrisy of the evangelical right. They're all for freedom of speech when it serves to protect their unending proselytization. The minute the principle is invoked in defense of anything they don't endorse, then it's an evil that must be stomped out, by government fiat if necessary. Their version of freedom extends only as far as their approved preachers have told them it can or should be thrown.

Thus endeth the lesson.

Monday, August 23, 2010

What a narcissistic asshole

This story only confirms why the Count hates Jesus of Mississippi, and why I like #4 even less.


Minnesota coach Brad Childress knew there would be coaches, players and media wasting him for fawning after Brett Favre the way he has the past couple of weeks. "If you have to beg Brett Favre to be a part of this team, then I've lost respect for this team,'' former Patriot Tedy Bruschi said on ESPN after the Vikings sent Childress (twice) and three players (once) on trips to Favre's living room to drag him back to football. I'd predict half the coaches in this league feel the same way as Bruschi -- and I talked with three of them myself -- but they just won't speak up to criticize one of their peers.

Childress is fine with being the punching bag for going waaaaaay over the top to get Favre back. Because, as he said last night from the Vikings' locker room in San Francisco: "There are no sacrosanct rules in this business. You do what you have to do to win, and I've got no problem with that. You can't get a hit if you don't swing the bat.''

I would buy this notion, if only the Vikings actually made it to the Super Bowl last year, and the previous two years where #4 missed the playoffs in New York, and the NFC Championship in 2007 in his final year in Green Bay. Furthermore, I can't figure out what more disgusting: How Brett has taken the Minnesota Vikings by the balls and enjoys making the team squirm because the organization knows they're desperate, or how Brad Childress surrendered his team to an aging QB with a primadona attitude.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Douchebag Jay Mariotti Gets Arrested

Pretty much everybody thought Jay Mariotti was a dickhead before now there is this ...

ESPN personality and sports columnist Jay Mariotti was released from jail on $50,000 bail Saturday, hours after being arrested on suspicion of felony domestic assault, authorities said.

Mariotti, 51, was arrested Saturday around 4 a.m. following an argument with his girlfriend, authorities said.

Mariotti is a well-known sports commentator who can be seen on the ESPN show "Around the Horn." He also writes for a sports website called Fanhouse.com where he is known for his outspoken views criticizing athletes for their actions on and off the field. He formerly wrote a sports column for the Denver Post and the Chicago Sun-Times.

LAPD sources said Mariotti allegedly got into an argument with his girlfriend at a club in Santa Monica, and they were observed exchanging harsh words just before getting in a car to leave. Mariotti got angry after he believed his girlfriend had been flirting with another man, police sources said.

The argument continued at the couple's apartment near Venice where Mariotti allegedly pushed and shoved the woman. During the altercation, Mariotti grabbed her arm, leaving marks, the sources said.

Police were called to the apartment and found his girlfriend, who has not been identified, with cuts and bruises.

Mariotti was held at the 77th Street station before being released midday Saturday.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Um...why??

In today's WTF!? segment: An American boy returns from North Korea. No, this kid wasn't held hostage by the dictitorial government...he went on an outreach program.

Jonathan Lee returned Thursday from an eight-day visit to the reclusive country during which he was taken on a tour of the DMZ. A hoped-for meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il did not materialize, although Lee said the officials forwarded to Kim a letter from him.

"On this trip, I discovered that both sides want reunification and that Korea is one, so I see hope on the Korean peninsula," Lee, who made the visit with his parents, Kyoung and Melissa Lee, told The Associated Press.

Impoverished North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world and its hard-line communist regime is under United Nations sanctions for launching missiles and refusing to comply with nuclear weapons inspections. Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a cease-fire and not an armistice, the U.S., South Korea and North Korea remain technically at war.

Lee, of Ridgeland, Mississippi, said the officials told him his proposed children's forest was dependent on North Korea first signing a peace treaty with the United States to formally end the war — a longstanding demand of Pyongyang's.

Who the fuck would want to visit North Korea and request an interview with Kim Jong Il? I'm all for outreach programs to understand other cultures and see other cultures in different locations, but North Korea woudn't be at the top of my list of places to see while i'm alive.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

War Is Over!

By now, you've seen the video footage of the last of U.S. ground troops leaving Iraq, thus ending Operation: Iraqi Freedom. 50,000 U.S. forces will stay to train the Iraqi army, and provide security for the country for the time being. Most of you who have read my blogs, both at Jonathan's Corner and on B&D, know my stance on the Iraq war, so I won't continute to beat a dead horse. Instead, let me take this time and this space to thank the men and women who served with the upmost honor and disinction during tour after tour. These brave souls answered the call when their country called on them to serve, and did their job to the best of their ability. For that, they have my, and a nation's, eternal thanks for doing what they did.

The Whore From Wasilla Is On Dr. Laura's Side

One more Conservative who doesn't understand the 1st amendment. Not that Sarah Understands much.


  1. Dr.Laura=even more powerful & effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitutional obstructionists. And b thankful 4 her voice,America!
  2. Dr.Laura:don't retreat...reload! (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist thx 2activists trying 2silence"isn't American,not fair")

Someone Crazier Than Ralph or Early

OK, I have just about decided that Ralph is really performance art, and the recently-banned early2it is just a kind of deluded coot. This guy, honed in on from Fundies Say the Darndest Things, is a prize-winner who tops them both for incoherence and bizarre "thought." The whole thing is here but I offer a tidbit below to whet your appetite. Like our pal Jer and many a winger, he can't quite figure out whether he's angrier at gays or atheists, but he knows it's all one vast conspiracy to deny him his birthright of power and glory.
AGAIN=atheists are nothing more than disgruntled homosexuals- if by small chance you are a heterosexual atheist this is simply because you were brainwashed by the homosexuals as all humans are a simple gullible monkey creature without knowledge of our infinite souls and guidance by god….Homosexuals are nothing more than abused children which made by god TO MIRROR the disgust in so called normal civilized behavior of sex lusting monkey people of the earth- everyone repent
All this "monkey people" stuff is a bit disconcerting. To the point of obsession, really. Do you think he's acquainted with Neal Horsley, or with Neal's fabled mule?

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Dr. Laura quits radio show

Last week, Dr. Laura got into some hot water, as she dropped the N-bomb mutiple time on the air. Tonight, she's calling it quits.

Dr. Laura Schlessenger, who dropped the N-Word 11 times on the radio last week (audio here), just pompously announced on Larry King Live that she's quitting her radio show to "regain [her] First Amendment rights." Inside, video of Schlessenger's announcement.

She said that she's going to exploring other avenues....Fox News, anyone?

From The Count: Combining our Threads :)

Why is it so many Conservatives don't understand that the 1st amendment doesn't guarantee freedom of employment?

Schlessinger ending her radio show because "my First Amendment rights have been usurped by angry, hateful groups"

Monday, August 16, 2010

Newshounds Has A New Idiot

Let Me Introduce you to Padoux!

The right wing nut jobs you speak of are not arguing the constitutional right over building a mosque. They (myself included) are opposed because it is a disgrace and slap in the face for the familes of the victims of 9/11 and it is a symbolic victory. If the right wing hates Muslims so much why aren't they protesting at other mosques being built? Of course they have a right to build there. That's what makes this country great. But I believe it is out of arrogance they are wanting to build it so close to Ground Zero.

padoux has commented
Sunday, August 01, 2010,10:03:26 PM
To visitor55:
The only bullshit I sense is your pathetic comment. You should think twice before posting next time. Sarah Palin has far more experience than Obama ever has. He is nothing but a college professor running the country. His healthcare reform will hurt many small businesses with the 1099 forms and other kinds of taxes. His answer to everything is to regulate, redistribute and tax. He opposes the Arizona law that most people favor and has accumulated more debt than any president. I'd love to know where you get your "unbiased" news from. I can't deny that Fox is conservative. But neither can you deny that other media outlets are not liberal.


Sunday, August 15, 2010

Save The Sex Ads For 3 In The Morning

I am a dinosaur in a lot of ways and one such way is I am one of the few Americans who still watches and enjoys the sport of Boxing. Tonight on HBO there was a fight between two boxers named Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal. On the back of Dawsons Boxing trunks sprawled across his ass in huge letters was an add for a condom website. Once I quit laughing I thought about how stupid and inappropriate it really was. The stupid is there because you're wearing a condom add on your ass and the inappropriate I will get to in a minute. I have since learned that this is nothing new for Dawson who has wore has wore that on his trunks before and many MMA fighters are also sponsored by that particular website. Honestly in the case of Dawson I never noticed it before, tonight it would have been impossible not to, and in the case of the MMA I wouldn't have noticed because I think MMA really really sucks.

I can remember as a young child watching fights with my Father as a 5, 6, 7 year old and I wondered if tonight a child that age asked his father what that website meant on the back of Dawson trunks and if a Father sat and fumbled for a reasonable answer to the question. Hell maybe today's 6 year old knows what a condom is and I am just behind the times. I can tell you at the age of about 8 or 9 I discovered that I liked girls but it was still another year or two before I figured out what exactly that meant in it's entirety and I was probably 12 or so before I stopped finding the whole idea of intercourse repulsive.

I feel the same way about the subject of sex and young children that I feel about politics and young children. A person only get's so many years (if they are lucky) that they can run and jump and play and be children without things like politics and sex ruining it for them. The sight of 42 year old woman's boob for a fraction of a millisecond is one thing athletes wearing condom adds, Race car drivers being sponsored by sexual enhancement pill companies is another. Yet it's the former that caused the uproar. Jimmy Johnson selling extenze tablets at 3:30 does not bother me. Any 7 year old up at that time and watching such a thing is the result of bad parenting But the fight was on before 10 o'clock and Cealis and Viagra commercials run at seemingly all hours and during all programs. In the case of the Male enhancement ads I am sure that many women who have put up with years of tampon and minstrel cramp commercials are probably saying "it's about time you know how we've felt for the last 35 years." And honestly they have a point.

I believe sexual education should start maybe as early as the 3rd or 4th grade. I believe it should start in earnest by the 5th or 6th grade. I also believe contraceptives should be made available in High Schools I also believe we should be allowed to watch a sporting program or any program with out having to explain to a 5, 6,7 year old that maybe be watching what a condom is or what ED is.

My Nephew who was about 6 or 7 at the time asked me who I was "going" for in the Presidential election. I told him Barack Obama. He asked why and I said simply I think he's the best person for the job. I left it at that. There will be time to share my Political beliefs with him when he is older. At his age he should just worry about figuring out how to get along with his classmates and make friends, WWE, NBA, and getting better at Madden's. You only get so many years when such things are the main concerns of your otherwise (again if you are lucky) care free life let's let the kids have those few years.

And yes I guess this is my Helen Lovejoy won't somebody think of the children post :)

Friday, August 13, 2010

Part II will start on Chapter 25, page 502

At the end of Chapter 24 of Harry Potter and the Deatly Hallows, Harry has a vision of Lord Voldemort visiting Dumbledore's grave, destroying his tomb, and stealing the Elder Wand, making him more powerful and more dangerous than ever before. According to Entertainment Weekly, that's where the audience will probably see the "To Be Concluded" card and wait in total anticipation for Deathly Hallows Part II, due out July 15, 2011.
I can't wait.

The View From My Ass Vacation Part 1,

First of I would like to thank America's English teacher Ralph for catching all of the typos. I am sure there will be some more for Ralph to find in this post. For the record when I get paid for what I write and yes I have had jobs where I got paid for writing I care about typos and such shit. When I do not get paid for what I write (sorry Uber Nip) I do not care about typos and such shit. As I have often said I know the difference between their, there and they're my fingers often do not. Anyway thanks Ralph and as your hero likes to say...



Anyway on to my Vacation. Is anything more exciting listening to somebody else talking about their vacation and showing pictures?

The Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver was just a little bit nicer than say the Thermopolis Best Western which I thought was pretty nice when I stayed there. If I had it to do over I would spend more time in Vancouver. I was there for 2 days the first was spent really just walking around the adjacent neighborhood (though we should have done more) because we were tired. I figured the cab driver that took us from the airport to the Fairmont was jacking up his fair by taking the longest way possible to the hotel but not being familiar with the city and with Holland America paying him I really didn't care. It turns out I was right. We later went on a bus tour of the city and cab driver took about 20 minutes longer to get o the hotel from the airport than the bus did.




Vancouver from outside our hotel window



A visitor outside our hotel window.

In Vancouver I was introduced to the $32 Eggs Benedict. Thankfully only once did were we really a slave to the hotel restaurant when we had to eat breakfast because the restaurant in the underground mall under the Fairmont was going to be opened in time before our bus left. I did buy some Cigars in the underground mall which I am sure I paid WAY to much for.

Oh Ralph when I opened my Luggage in Vancouver you'll be glad to know there was a card from the TSA saying they had gone through my bag and that it was clean.

On day 2 after paying $60 we took the fairy to Victoria. Yes I have to apologize to ET I was in Victoria for about 5 hours though it would have been quite difficult to have arrange meeting because it was part of a tour and we really only had a couple of hours to ourselves. Plus I honestly didn't know were going to Victoria. I don't pay attention to details.




Exciting picture from the fairy.


First place we went to on the Island was The Butchart Gardens Now I am not a big flowers and plants guy but this place was very neat.










After about 2 hours in the Garden we went to Victoria where we got about 3 hours downtown. Our Bus driver warned us Victoria was a "weird town" Our Bus driver was a cool guy but I could tell he was pretty conservative. Anywho outside of Darth Vader playing the violin I didn't think Victoria was near as weird as say Boulder Co. or Madison WI.



A picture of the Empress Hotel in Victoria which I took because James Bond stayed there in the book Brokenclaw.


Day 3 we started with another tour of Vancouver. We went to Granville Island which has a fantastic Farmers Market. Had I the time or the way to bring the food home I would have stood in the massive lines and bought a ton of food. The place sold every kind of food you can think of and it all looked good. After buying a fedora at Edie's Hats and watching another Canadian store say reject my debit Card (fucking Canuck credit cards machines) we went through China town. Our driver drove through East Hastings and pointed out that like every city Vancouver had it's "Skid Row" however unlike American cities Vancouver's Skid Row was about 7 blocks long.

We got on the boat and once again my debit card worked. I knew I was no Ralph and that I had some money to cover my ass.



Ms Ryndam. Our boat.



Some of my favorite moments on the boat were out in the middle of nowhere smoking a cigar on the observation deck. The best part of a cruise is for 7 days you have no idea what is going on in the world. It must be how people who watch Fox News all the time feel. Actually the cabins got CNN but anybody who spends their time on a cruise watching CNN is a damn fool. You can also buy Internet time but that too seemed like a waste of good time on the boat.

First port Ketchikan Alaska








Second port Juneau.




Governor's Mansion.







Alaska capital building where Sarah must have spent a good 25 minutes.

Skagway Alaska and Northern British Columbia









Glacier National Park










Kenai Fjords National Park. Our Cruise was over. This part was a small boat ride on very rough waters and one of the engines on the boat quit working. People on the boat called it the S.S. Minnow. I am not ashamed to admit I got sick on the boat of death.









Sea Otters there were also momentary whale sitings which we didn't get good pictures of.

This is the end of part 1. Tomorrow (hopefully) I will post pictures from the land tour part of the vacation. BTW the weather in Vancouver and Victoria was really nice high 60's low 70's and very sunny. It was also very nice in Katchikan 72 and sunny which the locals called "hot" and yes they really do not like the sun there. They were not at all happy it wasn't raining. The next day in Juneau the weather changed. It was in the 50's and drizzly. Other than Northern BC where it was in the 40's and by the Glaciers where it was in the 30's the temperature was in the 50's and low 60's rainy and overcast until we got to Fairbanks at the end of our trip where it was in the high 70's low 80's. Compared to this 98 degree heat index of 115 shit we our having now I loved the weather. But as I will explain in part 2 I was in the minority.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Dealing With Depression.

I talk to several people who have gone through or are going through some tough times in their lives and are battling some heavy issues with depression. I can tell you as somebody who also battled depression for several years and still does to some extent I have no real answers. I do however know what has helped myself.

1. "Cut the fat" For some people it may comes as surprise that one thing I did to try and beat depression was to purge several people from my inner circle and not try to attract a larger crowd. The truth is there were a lot of people that were not only not a help they were in fact a huge part of the problem. This even includes some family members. If somebody in my life either feeds my depression or feeds off of it to make themselves feel better I do not allow those people around me anymore. There certainly are some people who will try to help you and God bless them but many more it seems will take advantage of you when you are vulnerable. By the same token find those people who love you and stick by you and return the favor 10X over and be there for them. They've seen you through some real shit and never flinched you need to let them know you'll do the same for them if you have to.

2. "Confront Yourself" You are the reason you are depressed. People stop shitting on you when you stop either letting them (see #1) or you stop shitting on yourself. You don't need to find yourself, I don't even know what that means, but you do have to confront yourself and not to pity yourself either. You need to ask hard questions and get answers you need and not answers you want.

3. "Find your comfort zone" I never met a person who had no interest. Mine are Nebraska football, Music, James Bond Etc... I find when I have tough times I find I go to Nebraska football for comfort. That answer came to me after my Father's passing. I found myself collecting more old programs and newspapers that pertained to Nebraska football than I ever had before which is saying something because it's always been a huge interest. On the increasingly rare times I find depression sneaking in I usually now smoke a cigar and listen to some music. If all else fails I take some sleeping pills and go to sleep. Everyone has interest and passions don't be afraid to lean on them in tough times.

4. "Stop being a victim." This goes back to #2. Some people who suffer from depression get off on being depressed it's actually what truly makes them happy. And what makes them even happier is bringing their friends down with them. At some point you have to stop allowing yourself to be a victim. Ask what is it that I am doing that makes me so miserable? What am I doing to make it better? Am I using this miserable feeling as away to gain sympathy and putting guilt trips on my friends?

5. "Stop searching for shit to be depressed about" Admitted it, we've all done it. Things start going a little too smooth and we start getting uncomfortable in our new-found stability so we start looking for shit that makes us feel depressed. For many people depression is as much a comfort as a liability. There are millions of people who want to free themselves of crippling depression and there are millions who wear it proudly like a glove. In fact most of us who suffer from depression or have suffered from depression are in fact both. To this day there is a level of what I believe is depression that I find comforting from time to time (below) but I don't go looking for things to make me feel like shit. In fact I work to keep those things and people as far away as possible.

6. "Some Depression is a good thing" Ok this seems like I am going against everything I have already said but I am not. There is a level of depression that to this day I find comforting. It's hard to explain. it's not a fuck I want to die depression, it's not a everybody is out to get me depression and it's not a man I totally suck depression. It's a feeling that truthfully I can't accurately describe.

7. "Stop being scared of being happy" This was the hard one for me. For years I said the higher you fly the harder the crash. I actually feared happiness for the sure equal or worse despair I would experience as my punishment for daring to be happy. I've learned that in my life the opposite is actually true. For everything that as happened to me that brought me pain something equally as great or better has come from it.

8. "This too shall pass" When I have a particularly bad day I tell myself at some point this day will be over and never heard from again. No matter how bad it gets it will end and a new start will be here and I will not let any situation beat me twice.

9. "Seek help and accept help" I personally am not a huge fan of therapist ( many to me are in fact highly educated prostitutes who pretend to care for an hour for the right fee) and yet I acknowledge that many are quite good and many people do find the help and support they need from these people. I also believe that anybody who doesn't want to be helped, and there are millions, can't be helped. And it seems to me that anybody who doesn't help themselves is also beyond much help from others.

So there are my thoughts. Take them for what they are worth. I don't pretend they are the right answers for you or anybody else but they have helped me.

It's NFL Season

Jonathan please feel free to include some predictions.

Fearless Prediction from the Count Minnesota Quarterbacked by Brett Favre will go 10-6 and make the wild card round of the playoffs where they will be bounced.

Edit by Jonathan - Here are my predictions:

NFC:
East - Cowboys
North - Vikings (sorry, Count)
South - Falcons
West - 49ers
Wild Card - Saints and Packers

AFC:
East - Jets
North - Ravens
South - Colts
West - Chargers
Wild Card - Texans and Patriots

Thursday, August 5, 2010

The Fundamental Problem Between Democrats and Republicans

My take on the shameless middle-finger both sides gave to 9/11 first responders can be found at Jonathan's Corner. Please read and leave a comment, and the Count can cut and paste my post if he so wishes.

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The Fundamental Problem Between Democrats and Republicans

Of all the things Dems and the GOP could endlessly argue and debate, I would at least think that the rescue workers - many of whom have suffered damage of their organs, have developed breathing problems, or other medical-type issues - that sacrificed their lives to save others trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center....something like giving them free healthcare and compensation for their tireless efforts would be a no-brainer, everyone in the freaking House of Representatives would unanimously support.

The bill came to the floor, was debated for weeks, and the final tally was in: yeas - 255, nays - 159. Did I mention that the bill, despite it's clear majority, didn't pass? Yes, you read that right: it had a clear majority in the House, and it didn't pass. And, oh yeah - and i'm sure this will shock every last one of you - most of the 159 representatives who voted no were.....drum-roll, please.....Republicans. So what was the argument behind voting no, you ask?

GOP critics branded the bill as yet another big-government "massive new entitlement program" that would have increased taxes and possibly kill jobs.

To pay the bill's estimated $7.4 billion cost over 10 years, the legislation would have prevented foreign multinational corporations incorporated in tax haven countries from avoiding tax on income earned in the U.S.

Bill supporters said that would close a tax loophole. Republicans branded it a corporate tax increase.

Pardon my French, but ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?!?!?! These are the men and women who put their own lives on the line for their fellow man, and this is how you choose to repay them!? By giving them the proverbial finger while you, once again, defend the interests of Corporate America!? What the hell is wrong you?? At what point did outright greed trump helping those who have given back and are suffering from respiratory problems and whatnot?

And the Democrats....I can't even begin to explain what I think of these guys....

King said Democrats were "petrified" about casting votes as the fall elections near on controversial amendments, possibly including one that could ban the bill from covering illegal immigrants who were sickened by trade center dust.

When will you guys stop acting like a bunch of petrified pussies, and start standing up to these corporate thugs? You have the Majority and yet, you're letting the Minority run the show???

Great. Republicans keep sucking that big business cock, while Democrats refuse to fight back against Republican opposition. The result is that the 9/11 first responders don't receive the treatment and the benefits they so rightly deserve, which, inherently, outlines the fundamental problem with our two parties in this day and age: Democrats are like the Lion in The Wizard of Oz, desperately searching for some courage, while the Republicans have morphed into Daniel Day-Lewis's character in There Will Be Blood: a greed-filled misanthrope who has longed forgotten to call the human race his own.

As If they Weren't Old Enough.


First of All if we have to sign ex-Lakers this is the guy I am glad we signed BUT He hasn't been that good in at least 3 years and did we really need to get older?

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Not a whole lot to say, but happy birthday, President Obama! I'll let the Count figure out what to do with this post.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Dismantling the American Empire

I was struck tonight by reading this piece at AlterNet. Especially striking was this cited quotation from Christopher Lasch:
“The real promise of American life,” he insisted, was to be found in “the hope that a self-governing republic can serve as a source of moral and political inspiration to the rest of the world, not as the center of a new world empire."
I think this encapsulates what we nearer the progressive end of the spectrum find so lacking in the right-wing worldview - this argument of theirs that the U.S. must simultaneously serve as the sole template for every nation (enforced with gun or tank or missile if necessary), while at the same time trouncing the notion that the U.S. must engage with other nations at any other cooperative level - as in the repeated calls to opt out of the United Nations organization.

It's an impulse at cross purposes, to in one motion be the imprint and in the same motion to step back completely.

Bacevich, in conclusion, gets it absolutely right:
Promising prosperity and peace, the Washington rules are propelling the United States toward insolvency and perpetual war. Over the horizon a shipwreck of epic proportions awaits. To acknowledge the danger we face is to make learning -- and perhaps even a course change -- possible. To willfully ignore the danger is to become complicit in the destruction of what most Americans profess to hold dear.

Yes We Went Through There. On A Train At Least .



I have no idea who these people in the picture are. they were sitting in front of us.

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